Knife for food choppers



Jan. 8, '1935. v c. A. LAEMMEL 1,986,933

KNIFE FOR FOOD CHOPPERS Filed Sept. 3, 1932 gnaw bow:

ChaclesA.L aez nmel,

Patentedja r a n r f f t V 1986,933 v FoitjFoonjoHorrsns Charles A.Laemmel, Brooklyn, N. Y., assigiior-to Atlantic Service Company, 1110.;Brooklyn, N. -Y.,"

acorporationofNewYorkat in I Application September-3, 932,- s riarn f631,721; y

12'01aims; 1 (01. 146-189) lViy invention relates to new andusefulimprovements in knives for meat cutters, and more particularly -to aknife comprising a carrier or v frame having renewable blades which maybe quickly replaced within the icarrier and, quickly removedtherefromwhen worn. i i

Still a oth r object of the invention s wpiei ride a. knife for meat'cutters wherein the blades within the carrier are self-aligning'sothatthe cutting edges of all the blades will lie flat against the, plateand the meat will thus be sharply cut rather: than torn orgroundi Asiswell: known tolthoseskilled in theart of meat cutters, the pressuregenerally applied wa f h bla s kb its srs' n t h v therefore increasethe pressure against the knife to a point wherethaknife will spring outof to theplate to the blade or knife near itsinner end and the pressuregradually diminishes as it reachesthe outer enclof the blade.

. o-w, due to thefactthat the blade is, of course,

very hard, it cannot accommodate itself to any wear in the plate-withthe: result that it is apt' to bridge over the wornfparts of the-plateand thus tear or crush themeatratherthan cut ethe same sharply.. Thiscondition continues until the knife grinds itself jintotheirregularities of; the

plate, thetime depending, of course, on the hardshape, resulting infurtherdamage orthe machinedtself, v

nswer object of" my inventiomltherefore, is to provide a knife in theform of afcarrier, or frame infwjhich is to b'e sprungthe ,blades,aswill be hereinafter set" out, w'hichflblades are slightlyQconvex ontheir reariedges, so that when thc kn'ife isplaced in the machinethepressure is exerted on the blades about' centrallyoftheir length or,in otherwords', atajpoint somewhat remote from, thecentralaxisjofthecarrieror frame. Thus, the blade may rock slightly and.

properlyalign or accommodate itself toa worn plate; In otherwords,eachbladeis self-aligning and will contact throughout its; lengthwith" the plate when pressed up againstthesame, even though the'platebeworn from usagey Still another object or the invention is torovide ameat cutter knife wherein the blades are inserted by simply slightlycompressing awpair 501 of them in the fingers 'andeplacing them withinreceptive grooves within the carrier or frame,

blade toincrease flexibilityg andx Ms any distortion that might takeplace during the heat treatment of Either the blades or the carrier willbe nullified by the self-aligning character of the blades.

With these andjnum erdus otherobjectsini view which wili more; readilyappear as the specificatmmproceedstheinvention 'consistseln certain andnovel arrangements and combination of--parts, as will "be hereinaftervmore fullypscle scribed and pointed out the claims};

Referring now to thedrawing showing a pr; i

ferred embodiment :and two i slight modifications,

- ,1 is a side elevation, partly in sectiomof a meat; chopper having thepresent invention embodiedthereiny :9

, Fig. 2;is art enlarged sectional View the knife in positionagainsttheflperforated plate;

Fig. 3 is;an enlarged face view of'thecarrieror frame with the bladesfitted within the receptive groovesbf the'franie; i

Fig, 445 a back viewaofl thecarrier Figs 5 is blades i i p n i "2 s Fig.6 isa diagram showing the flexing of 'tne' blade to compensate forgwearin theplate;

i "Fig. 7 is a view of aslightlygmodified typebf Fig. 8 is adetail eierview of a st fur-then modification of a blade of bfent formation; i

Referringnow more particularly tozthe 'several views, there is shown aconventional-type of-meat a chopping machine 1, with the screw orhelix-2 therein which, at its outer end, bearsagainst' the rear'of the knife3pwhich, inturn, bears against F the inner surface of i theusual'perforated p1ate4.

The helix andmknife, ofmcourse, arerrevolved through the medium of Ethehandle 5 described morein detail; w v Referring now for th e'moment toFig carrier or frame "3, having-the four outstanding arms 6 which arespaced in .right angularposi- 1 tion, whiletheiouteredgejof-therespective arms may, be slightly roundedyas at @There isthehub8,'-which maybereinforced; as at 9, in the usual manner. l

n ;It will be understood; that a" for frame with: a diif erent form :ofhub-might likewise be utilized, andit1 willsalsobe understood thatin thespecif cation where the word knifeioccurs; it designates the ensembleoftheframe. with its blades, 4 n v a h n llde u a eofs th e j nL HL i IbseQQfi the receptive grooves for theaccommodation of he bl fi amiss maybe e in Fi 1 W v 3;4 and '5, it will be seen thatthe-knife Scorisists ofthe i sho n extend n from" th 1 o er ed e; Q

the e m in ar to t e P int 12;: where it again extends upwardly andoutwardlyto the v or-frame; a perspective of one of theknife ieltwillibeffurther seen that the blades are re- In a like manner (Fig. 3), thereis a groove,

17 in a similar arm, that extends inwardly paral-, lel with its arm anddownwardly, "asst '18,' upw d y, as at 19, n h nawewardly as stal in thearm adjacent the armjust mentioned.

pairs will be received in radially receptive grooves,

there being a continuousgroov for eachtwo'of the arms.

Referring now for the moment to the removabl'e blad'es 213 a pair bfwhich'is shown in Fig.

- teinpered 'tothedegree of hardness found most preferable-{or theblades may be niadeof; highq'uality hgh-spedtholsteel and} shaped byforging; r I r p'a'ir'of blades consists of the blade 22 and the blade23that extend: at a ninety degree angle theretof which 'is the angle ofthereceptive grooves in the arms of the carrieror'fra'me.

twof'degrees. "This slight opening ofthe blades has -an advantage'inthat when they are compressed slightly with the fingersand'placed-within the receptive grooves in the carrier theywill befrictionally held within the grooves until such time; as the knife isplaced in the meat chopper where, of course,'the blades will be tightlyheld by compression against the plate and tightly within the grooves oftheir carrier or frame.

duced slightly where the two blades of-the pair merge-,that-is, at thebridge 24, and it will also be. seen .thatthe angularity of the bridgeof the blades tconforms in shape'to the angularity of :the

" grooves in the. carrier. where theyencircle the respective anglesofthe hub.- Thus, when each pair of blades is placedwithin its grooves inthe carrier,"'it: is encompassed. throughout its. entire length: bythewalls 'of its respective grooves.

Now the upper edgesi25= or, in other words,

the-cutting edges, ofthese'blades arein a'plane surface, "whereas thelower or opposite edges of the blades areslightly convex and'eachbladehas its respective highpoint', such as at 26 and 27.

' As shown in'the enlarged detail, Fig. 6, each ,"It will be noticedthat the metal bridging the two blades is relatively thin and reducedwith relation to thedepth of 'the'blades'. Thusfwhen pressures;appliedto the blades through the mediiim of their carrier,anyirregulaiity or ang'u larityi'n teenage wnrb 'o er ome, as the pres-S it? e i hjibei e ii ff et e l 1 Wi 1 shown.

them to rock or pivot slightly on their high spots, the metal formingthe bridge giving slightly, so that the blades will align themselvesthroughout their length and thus contact perfectly with the surface-ofthe worn plate.

As heretofore mentioned, it is desirable that the, cutting edges of theblade contact throughout their length with the perforated plate of themeat chopper, so that the meat will be cut sharply and; cleanly, ratherthan crushed or ground,

.which soot-ten happens when a conventional type In other words, theblades being formed in ct c'u'tter' is used, due to the fact that theplate becomes worn from use by the continuous movement of the knivesabout the plate.

It will be noticed that by making these interchangeable blades in pairs,and by forming the radial grooves as shown, the blades can be heldin-plac'ewithout the further use otscrews 'or d w ls an r rm r it s ne nssary to use any tools for the insertionor removal of the blades fromthe carrier or frame.

It will also be noticed that these blades are of the same thicknessthroughout their height, so that when they are re-ground or sharpened,they still maintain the same thicknessor width of cutting edge as theyin the beginning.

' I have'also found that'by forming a carrier or frame as shown, thesame may be heat-treated to the-proper hardness, and any slightdistortionthat' takesplace during the heat treatment isjove'rcorne byhaving the knives or blades convex on their bottom surface, asthe bladeswill thus properly seat or alignthemselves with relafon to the platewhen the knife is placed in the iood chopper. I

, Inthe same manner, any slight distort-ion 'in the treatment of theblades is overcome -by-the ali gning'feature of theblades. v I

Thus, the knife will have as much-strength as the solid; type while, atthe same time; it'is not necessary to overcome any distortion by"grind"- in gQWhic'h is expensive andwhichhas to' be'done sojmany casesinthe solid type orform of knife thatiis-in--use-today.-

In Fig. '7', there is a slight'modification shown o enbaege e f ex bi tyof} the b a n h instance there is the, reduced bridge 28 connecting theintegral blades 29. and 30, in which there are the elongated slots 31,while the niches. 32 are formed in the under edgesof the blades. Itwillbeiinderstood'a1so that thereare'two pairs offbladesiused ineachcarrier, otherwise the bladesare similar in' all, respects to theblades shown in'the 'preferred form.

Likewise, in another .m'odification shown, in mg. 8,11 have show'nhowtheblade 33, rather. than. extending at right angles to its plate 34,mis t- 2 e t f ie sh t. s n t s a 3 aridextend downwardly, as-shownat36,- to thus cohiat wi he t' nlateatan an e es he mnetr degrees, asshown in-;the preferred type.

1 It willalso beunderstood,thatthe bottom. wall of thegrooves might be.oi convex shape and-the lower edge .of the-blades made aflat, which is:just oppositelfrom a'convex lower edge blade and 'a flat bottom wallgroove,buti this reversal of parts is so obvious that itisnotthought-necessary.te show it in the drawing,- andit will be noticedthat. I prefer the arrangement described and From the foregoing, it'will-be seen that I have provided 'a typeof knife having renewablebladesovercomes the my objections pointed out that are inherent to thesolid formof knife.

Each blade of the pair is self-aligning, so that even though the platebecomes worn or distorted,

a merly was the case with the solid form of knife thecutting' edge ofthe blade will, at all times, contact throughout its length with theplate, while a screwing up of the knife against the plate will notfurther distort or wearthe plate, as forof the conventional type. IFinally, by having thepressure applied to the relativelythin blades, ata point about centrally of their length, the, blades may bend slightlyedgewise should the plate be worn hollow, to

thus insure the proper contact of the blades.

with the plate, whichresultcould not be accomplished in the old formofknife where "the press sure is applied centrally of the frame or, inother words, at the inner adjacent blades.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A pair of integral knife blades for a food! chopper formed ofrelatively thin metal andconsisting of two blades extendingsubstantially at right angles. to each other throughout their cut- Qting length, the said blades being reduced and deflected from a. rightangle at their points of merger and a bridge. of resilient natureconnecting the two blades so that the said'blades may be springinglyforced slightly "toward or away from each other. i

2. A pair of integral blades for a meat chopper consisting. of a reducedbridge portion of irregular shape, two right angularly extending blades,

their cutting edges presenting plane surfacesancl their under edges.extending downwardly from their opposite ends towards theircenter, andthe said blades formed with openings to enhance their flexibility. I

3. A pair of knife blades for a meat chopper consisting of two rightangularly positioned cutting blades, a flexible bridge of reducedportion connecting said blades, the bridge portionbeing of irregularshape and adapted to encircle a portion of awall of the hub of acarrier, the

blades being capable of being sprung slightly spect to each otherwhenfforced against the towards each other, the under surfaces of theblades extending downwardly from their ends towards the center and thesaid blades being capable of a slight rocking movement with replate of ameat cutter.

having radial arms which, in turn, have receptive flat bottom grooves intheir under surfaces, removable blades fitting in the receptive grooves,

the ends of the blades of less depth than the central portions thereofto produce a convex under surface to contact with said flat bottomgrooves whereby the blades will properly align themselves when heldadjacent the plate, of a food chopper.

5. A knife for meat choppers including a car- 1 rier having radial arms,areceptive fiat bottom groove dividing the arms in pairs, the groovesformed on the under surfaces of said arms, a pair of blades fitting ineach pair of grooves, the top surfaces of the blades being flatwhile theopposite surfaces. of theblades are convex longitudinally whereby theblades may slightly rock within their grooves longitudinally toproperlycontact throughout their length with the plateof a meat chopperWhenforced against said plate..

ends of the knife.

4. A knife for meat choppers including a'carrier 6. A knife for meatchoppers including a'car groove extending radially of one arm and thenangularly and then radially of an adjacent arm to form a pair ofgrooves, the two remaining arms being also likewise provided with asimilar groove, blades connected by a bridge to form a pair, and a pairof blades in each of the pair of grooves, the bridge connection betweenthe respective blades resiliently holding the respective blades in therespective pair of grooves, the under surface of each blade beingslightly convex longitudinally whereby the blades will all properlyalign themselves with respect to the plate of a food chopper whenpressed thereagainst.

7. A pair of integral'blades for a food chopper, a resilient bridgebetween thesaid blades, the

,top surfaces of the blades being relatively flat and the under surfacesof the bladesbeing reduced in depth at their ends to produce a convexunder surface, the bridge .beingslightly reduced and adapted to partlyencircle the. walls of a hub of a carrier for said blades.

8. A'pair of integral blades for a meat chopper consisting of tworelatively thin blades positioned.

at right: angles to each other and connected by a bridge extending in aplane below the cutting. edges of said blades,'the said bridge alsobeing of irregular outline and adapted to encircles. portion of theWalls of a hub of a carrier or frame, and the under surfaces of,theblades-being reducedin depth at their ends to thereby provide aconvex under surface longitudinally of the blades. j

9. A pair of integral blades for a meat chopper consisting of a reducedbridge portion of irregular shape; the two blades extending angularlywith relation to each other, the topsurfaces of l the blades beingrelatively flat, and the under surfaces of the blades reduced in depthat their ends to form the blades convex throughout their length. i

10. A pairof relatively'thin blades for a meat chopper having anintegral connecting bridge of irregular shape, ,thesaid bridge extendingin a plane below the cutting edges of the blades and above the bottomedges of said blades, the blades capable of being slightly sprung towardor away rier or frame having four radial arms, a receptive from eachother and rocked slightly with relation to each other, the rockingmovement of the blades compensated for in the bridge structure.

11. A knife for meat choppers including a carrier or frame, the latterhaving grooves therein,

a pair of blades connected bya bridge, the blades extending at rightangles to each other and adapt- 12. A knife for meat choppers includinga frame having a central hub and radial arms extending from the hub,grooves in thearms and about said hub, a pair of cutting blades having abridge, the

bridge and blades frictionally and springingly held within said grooves,the bottoms of the grooves and the under surfaces of the bladespresenting points of contact rather than of flat surfaces whereby theblades may align them selves properly when forced against the plate of ameat chopper. w i

- CHARLES A. LAEMMEL.

